Indians fall to Lehigh

When "hustle" is your mantra, things can go really well — or not so much.

Venice experienced both Tuesday night.

Unfortunately, the visiting Indians were unable to hold onto a 14-point lead, as freshman Stef'An Strawder scored 13 of his 16 points in the game's final 10 minutes and Lehigh rallied for a 53-50 victory in a Class 6A-Region 3 semifinal.

"That's basketball, and we told the guys, that's life," said Venice coach James Slaton. "We deserved to win the game, we really did. Unfortunately, that team doesn't always win."

Venice (16-13) — whose starters averaged 5-foot-11 — seemed headed for its second road upset in six days after making seven 3-pointers in a near-perfect first half, three of them by 5-9 John Cokley (12 points). The Indians led 42-28 after Cokley, 5-10 Isaac Whitney and 6-2 Dom Marino, all seniors, made successive diving saves leading to senior Dillon Marksbury's free throw with 2:36 left in the third quarter.

Then things changed.

"They pressured us a little bit more, forced us to put it on the deck," Slaton said. "I think they got us playing a little faster than we wanted to play."

The Lightning held Venice without a field goal for more than 10 minutes, offsetting a 20-1 Indians run that had turned a 22-17 deficit into a 37-23 advantage midway through the third.

Lehigh (22-6) took a 47-46 lead with 3:34 remaining on two free throws by senior guard Bernard Edwards (18 points, seven rebounds, two steals), a Bowling Green commit.

Marino's layup, after a Marksbury steal, cut Venice's deficit to 51-50 in the final minute, but Ronzell Evans converted in transition at the other end. Marksbury had two chances in the last 16.9 seconds to tie it, but missed both 3-pointers.

"We had trouble adjusting to their press. It changed the flow of the game," said Marino (22 points, five rebounds, three steals), who scored Venice's first 11 points of the second half, including a three-point play on a feed from Marksbury (seven points, five assists).

Marino and Cokley combined to make 11 of 20 shots, but Lehigh held the rest of the Indians to 4-of-24 shooting.

"When your height averages less than six feet, you probably shouldn't even have a winning season, and we pulled that off," Marino said. "All I've asked was for us to have some heart and don't give up, and these guys definitely delivered. They answered the bell every time."